Gobble gobble....All Hands and Feet on Deck!

****Gobble, gobble!  What better way to get ready for Thanksgiving than painting hands and feet to make turkeys?  As we used their feet for the turkey's body and their hands for the feathers, the kids loved making these and learning their colors and utilizing fine motor skills to paint and cut.  So, put all hands and feet on deck and get your gobble on!****

Fall Tissue Paper Trees

With fall here, let your kids decorate for the festivities!  This cute, fall tree is made from a cut paper towel roll, cardboard and assorted tissue paper cut into squares.  My girls really enjoyed making these and good for color/season recognition.  First, get your paper towel rolls, draw a tree top template on a flat, square or rectangle piece of cardboard (I just cut the edges off a box.), cut out the treetop template, line up the treetop to the towel roll and I cut two slits so the treetop could slide onto the 'treebark' (paper towel roll) after the kids glued on their tissue paper leaves.  Have a fun fall season!

L is for Leaf!

Finally, fall is here!  What better way to learn about seasons and the letter 'L' than making decorative leaves!  My kids have all enjoyed helping decorate and this project is a great fine motor, artistic activity where they can integrate phonics learnig with the letter L and you can incorporate using your state tree leaves for them to decorate and learn about their own geography at the same time!  All you need is wax paper or contact paper, colored tissue paper, scissors and we used some glue and an iron to press the wax paper.  Happy Fall!!

***NO More Boredom with Shape Learning!**

***KIDS LOVE GEOBOARDS!!  An excellent way to learn shapes, geometry concepts and color recognition for colored rubber bands!  I found this particular geoboard at our library and they are available at the website http://www.therapro.com/Geolastic-Art-P5330C5318.aspx   These are VERY DURABLE and worth every cent!  My kids love using these and learning!***

**Cherri-0 Counting Fun for Fall!**

**Another use for a game!  We took the cherries from the prek game and my little star took a pitcher and sorting container to count out cherries.  Next we plan on using the different colored cherries to sort out colors and will cut out construction paper apples and tape to bottom of sorting container so they can sort out their colored cherries.  Happy Cherry Counting!**

Edible Apple Stamping Art

**What do you get when you put powdered punch mix, water, flour and apples together?  A really yummy art project!  Put powdered punch mix in a bowl with some water, a little flour to thicken it up a bit and then take an apple, cut it in half and you have red 'paint' for your apple stampers!  Happy Back 2 School and Fall Time!**

Sensational Salt!

***Have a child that DOESN'T want to write their name or even try writing?  Those that struggle with fine motor and some learning challenges are more enabled to get involved when the activity looks more 'fun' than paper and pencil writing.  Salt and shaving cream in trays work wonders and when you add a little food coloring......LOOK OUT!  It's a mad dash for their fingers to get in those trays!**

U is for Understanding

***"Getting to know you.  Getting to know all about you!"  This catchy tune from "The King and I" reminds me of our Teach Preschool's 'Letter U' segment, UNDERSTANDING.  As passionate, loving and caring educators, we not only encourage our students to learn and respect their peers, but, where would WE ALL be without understanding and respecting our very own colleagues and co-workers.  By understanding the children and our peers, we all stretch ourselves to create, implement and provide a nurturing unity amongst all of us.  Honestly, I can say each article, comment and new friend from Teach Preschool, has opened my eyes and continues to make a difference for new ideas and ways of teaching and respecting my fellow peers.  "Haven't you noticed suddenly i'm bright and breezy?  Because of all the beautiful and new things i'm learning about you day by day."***

Making Memories with Boxes!

**Have Your Students' Memories Last!  To end our year together, we got out the tissue boxes, glitter, felt letters, glue, paper, crayons/colored pencils and had a blast down memory lane as each child drew pictures of their favorite times here and we put them in their own memory box.  Way to make happy times last!**

Color Sorting Sensory Fun!

**What do you get when you put a bunch of colored pom poms and a large egg carton together??  A super cool, fun, sensory, color matching activity!  My preschoolers LOVED figuring and counting out their pom poms; plus sorting them into their proper containers.  Best part of it, I didn't have to instruct them on what to do!  They counted and sorted on their own:)**

Flashlight Fun Making Stars!

**Flashlight Day for Our Camping Unit!  The students each got to bring a flashlight and we used plastic lids, cut/poked holes in the lid, put them over the flashlights to create stars.  One of our flashlights had colored gels on them to change colors too!**

Sensation Sensory Break with Homemade Playdoh!

**What happens when you take a cup of flour, one fourth cup of salt and water and mix in some food coloring or Kool Aid mix?  Some fun Homemade Playdoh!!!  The students get to use all the ingredients, measure and pour them in.  Each one got to pick out which colors they wanted for their playdoh and I used plastic, sandwich baggies to knead in the food coloring with the dough.  Excellent for math skills, fine motor and sensory breaks!**

Campfire Crafting Fun!

**Kids really enjoyed making their own campfires to take home!  We used toilet/paper towel rolls, glued them together, and folded up yellow and red tissue paper for their flames.  Stars were smokin' with this craft!

Camping, Cooking Outdoors=Good Times with Good Learning!

A Camping We Will Go...!  This week, the shining stars built tents indoors and outdoors, roasted marshmallows and learned about fire safety around a campfire.  They even boogied to their new camping song by Miss Teri, "Vamos a la Tienda!" 

Springtime Flowers with Filters!

Kids love making flowers for spring and for my bulletin board each year.  You can use tissue paper, or, as in this pic, we used coffee filters and watercolors so the kids can paint them and pick out their own 'stems' which are pipecleaners.  Fun, easy craft that all can enjoy!

April Showers Bring May Flowers!

As April brings us rain, the kids learn about the water cycle and have fun with our stuffed rain clouds craft!  Just draw out a cloud on white construction paper, have the kids cut out their clouds (2 sheets), have them save their scraps and crumple them up into balls, adult staples half of the edges of the cloud, child stuffs cloud with scraps, adult staples cloud shut and the child glues/tapes on three blue crepe paper rain strips.  If all the raindrops......!

April Showers.....Learning about Clouds and Evaporation!

Science doesn't have to be boring and complicated for little ones to get involved!  Take a pot or dish of boiling water (adult supervision required), a couple cotton balls and tongs and you instantly can teach how the steam rises (evaporates) into your cotton ball cloud and then by squeezing the cotton with tongs, you get rain (precipitation)!  I had my kids and students then make their own clouds and glue them to blue construction paper as we remembered how clouds were formed:)  Happy April Showers!

Hearty Moves!

Watch this Heartfelt Mobile Spin after your students attach their heart to this paper plate that was cut up in a spiral shape!

With a Little Touch of Heart

Great arts and crafts project for infants and toddlers!  Let them paint their doilies and pat their hands in paint, then on some paper in the shape of a heart.  Cute keepsake! 

Valentine's Sensory Bucket

Let your little one's minds run love struck with fun this Valentine's Day!  This sensory bucket allows kids to sort, measure, count, feel, match and much more!  I used a heart shaped bucket, purple and red pom poms, plastic heart containers, foam glitter hearts and heart shaped measuring spoons--my absolute favorite!  Who says learning can't be fun?!

Letter T is for Turtle!

Kids will love learning about letter T with this fun, sparkly craft of making turtles!  Take a plastic cup, cover in glue, sprinkle with green glitter and add a pom pom green head and google eyes to it and you have your very own turtle. 

Salty Snowflakes---Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow!

Looking for a great, winter wonderland activity?  Combine boiled water, glue and salt in a container, mix it around with a paint brush, add some more salt and let your kids have fun painting salty snowflakes!  You can also just put glue on the black construction paper and have them get a sensory experience by sprinkling the salt as well.  Have fun with your snowflakes!

Circles and Scissor Skills!

Have little hands that are itching for some cutting fun?  Have your little one(s) cut out circles and decorate them how they wish.  Great for shapes unit, winter wonderland unit for snowballs and practicing fine motor skills.  My stars HAD A BLAST cutting, building their confidence and decorating their circles. 

Pom Pom Scissor Skills Activity

Take some assorted plastic containers, pom pom craft balls, spoons, measuring cups and tongs and what do you have?  A fun time with toddlers that allow them to sort, count, use imagination and work on their scissor skills with the tongs!  This activity I love to do with my students as they explore math concepts and improve their fine motor skills.

Warm Fuzzy Friends

Warm Up with Warm Fuzzy Friendship Bracelets!

Good friends are something special, so we each picked out a color for our bracelets and handed out warm fuzzy compliments to each friend with a fuzzy to attach to their bracelet.  Good to help practice social skills with the kids, manners and friendship.

Look for Treasure with a Brush of Color!

Looking for a new way to teach colors to the little ones in a fun, hands on way?  My shining star students went on a treasure hunt, looking for two items that were purple, or could be the color purple.  The objects they found were interesting to them, easy for them to hold and even better, able to be dipped in washable purple paint.

We have a "Color of the Week" and this week it is purple, so I thought, what better way to help learn by going on a treasure hunt and doing some stamp painting artwork! 

Holiday Transition Time!

Ever get the holiday blah feeling after all the gatherings all over and you look around to see.....one big mess?  How does your child(ren) handle the transition?  Here are some helpful tips for you as the parent and the kids!
1.  Make a Plan
Plan the day you and the family will take down all the decorations and have the kids help get out boxes, put items in boxes.  Discuss with your kids their favorite parts of the holidays and think of ideas for the upcoming year!  Remember their goal cannisters?  You can continue to add pictures and ideas in them, or, even make one for yourself!
2.  Prepare a Family Favorite Meal
Gathering at the table for meals with the kids is very important and emphasizes the family values.  It also will help keep emotions in perspective to treasure the times of being together while you still can.
3.  Get excited for the next holidays approaching!
There are many different days and holidays approaching; even after New Years.  You can do google searches and even check out http://www.dltk-kids.com/ under the holiday section and scroll down because there are many "special days", birthdays and other holidays that you not only can learn about, but have your kids get excited and involved in.  Dltk's site also has many craft ideas to do with your family so all of you can look forward to the remainder of each winter month.
4.  Take Time for You
You always feel better when you are able to spend some "quiet time" and "quality time" with yourself or your spouse.  The saying is true, "When Momma ain't happy, nobody's happy!"  Keeping active and getting some time for yourself will help recharge your spirit and in turn, your kids will feel better too.
Enjoy This Winter Season!

Happy New Year!!! What does 2011 have in store for you?

It's time to start the new year with a new twist!  I know, I know, every year we hear others making resolutions and cliche goals, but this year, let's try something different.  Have you ever discussed with your child(ren) the importance of goal setting and really dove into their minds to see what they wish to accomplish in life? 

 This past week, my shining star students all discussed what they wanted to accomplish and set as their goals in 2011.  Using some imagination, construction paper, glue, glitter and containers, they each made a 2011 Goal Time Capsule.  Each child drew pictures of their goals and stuck them into their time capsules and over the year, will look at them and make a point of accomplishing their goals. 

This project opened my own mind up as well; not to just set goals plastered over the media, but to really push myself to keep moving forward.  In turn will not only help myself, but, set a good example for the kids that goal setting is a positive, attainable attribute to keep with you your whole life, everyday of the year. 

With that said, have a very bright and rewarding New Year with your star kid(s)!